ON THE ACCURACY OF RESULTS FROM MICROCALORIMETRIC MEASUREMENTS ON CELLULAR-SYSTEMS

During the last two decades, major developments have been made in micr ocalorimetry and in measurement techniques applied to living cellular systems. We have now reached a state where such measurements are often very easy to perform using precise commercial instruments. However, r esearchers should be reminded of certain risks in making systematic er rors in such work. Some properties of the microcalorimeters used in wo rk on cellular systems are briefly reviewed. Possible sources of error s and misinterpretations of results are discussed, and some test and c alibration processes are described.